November 30th

Thus says the LORD:
For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals —
they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth,
and push the afflicted out of the way;
(Amos 2:6-7a)

you come,
not for the soft carols we sing,
but because you hear the whispers
of cities under rocket attacks.
you come,
not to be warmed by our candles,
but because of the voices filled
with the bitter chill of cruelty.
you come,
because you love too fiercely
to let things stay as they are,
while we would avoid the forgotten,
we would ignore the cries of innocence,
we would shrug at injustice.
so come,
even for us who are longing for
new carols from the angels
not the rumblings of God
trying to wake us up.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

November 29th

“He will again have compassion upon us;
     he will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all our sins
     into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19

yes,
you remember every tiny sparrow
struggling to use its wings,
and while you could choose
to remember all the stony words
we spoke in the past, you gather them up,
crushing them to become paths
which lead others to your home.
you place your hands around
our fists clenched tight with
all our foolish choices and acts,
whispering the soft syllables of grace
until we simply let go.
then you take us down to the shoreline
where you take each mistake
and skip them across the crystal sea,
laughing until they sink beneath
the waves of your compassion,
and as you place your hand
on our slumping shoulders,
you point to the sun
coming over the horizon,
and we splash barefoot
into your love which,
like waves of the ocean,
never stops coming back.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

November 28th

"Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;” 1 Peter 3:15b

it is not like fumbling
for the key, as our arms
are full of doubt, trying to unlock
a door we never encountered before.
hope is that secret whispered
to us so long ago, we forget
that grace has grit,
compassion has breath,
love refuses to be put
in a time out in the corner.
so, whenever folks want
to put us in the dock,
waiting for us to come up
all sorts of shaky alibis,
may we not boast
about multi-campuses
or winning strategies
or sold-out seminars,
but simply whisper in
a soft voice of faith
of how lost we were
until Someone showed us
the way home, and
maybe a person on the jury,
or in the back of the room,
or sitting on the bench
begins to feel
the first stirring of that hope
which has been inside them
all along.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

November 27th

"Therefore wait for me, says the LORD, 

    for the day when I arise as a witness.” Zephaniah 3:8a

wait—
just wait,

in that quavering silence between
our shattering and God’s breath
moving upon us like mist
over a lake in the morning.
wait—
just wait,
as God gathers up all the pieces
of this puzzle called life
we have scattered in our frustration.
wait—
just wait,
for God will speak
in the frayed voices of the forgotten,
will point to the evidence
of all the pain we have caused
in those tears cupped in God’s hands.
wait—
just wait,
not in fear but in that hope
that God makes all things new,
even our waiting.

© 2025 Thom M. Shumabn

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

November 26th

“Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.” 1 Peter 2:1

it’s okay—
just let it slip through your fingers
like a rock too heavy to carry anymore,
that false front you keep showing.
pack it all up, sit on the suitcase
if you have to smoosh all that
anger, bitterness, cruelty in order
to make it fit in, and then just
drop it off at the left luggage area.
it’s okay—
you don’t need to let it keep
tagging after you like some
shadow which refuses to disappear
on those terrible, dreich days,
for God simply wants us to learn
how to walk through the world
unburdened
unencumbered
unafraid,
discovering how much more room
there is in you now for grace
to bloom as it should.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

November 25th

“The LORD is good,
      a stronghold in a day of trouble;
   he protects those who take refuge in him,” Nahum 1:7

we expect goodness to arrive
like a parade with sirens at the start,
but God is good in those
tender mercies which slip
into our souls when we least expect.
and it’s not a panic room
which God offers to us, but
a hand reaching out to hold us
when our faith begins to wobble,
as well as a silent space where
we have a chance to breathe again.
when troubles come (and they do),
hammering us like a boxer in a ring
or rain lashing windows in a storm—
God remembers us, and
in that steadfast remembering,
does not turn away, but wraps
our trembling edges with grace
and teaches us, with patience,
to take that first, oh so hesitant
step of faith once again.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

November 24th

“They scoff and speak with malice;
   loftily they threaten oppression.
They set their mouths against heaven,
   and their tongues range over the earth.” Psalm 73:8-9

strutting around as if the very sky
was woven from their bragging,
they let their words drift like
unwanted whispers into
the ears of the weary.
pushing past the humble and the hurting,
their tongues tiptoe down alleys
where mercy never goes.
yet,
uncertain and insignificant,
we will try to stand, letting
the noise of their certainty
pass us like a chill breeze,
and in the silence which follows,
we are reminded that no boasting
can deafen your whisper of hope,
no shadow casting pride
can overcome your light of love.
so, slowly, steadily, faithfully,
we will draw in deep breaths of grace,
taking assurance in your promise
that, however loud and enticing,
every lie will crumble like dust
and every arrogant voice
will fall silent before your Word.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman